Nordwind Airlines, LLC () is a Russian leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Moscow,About Nordwind and its hub is at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Nordwind Airlines primarily operates service between airports in Russia and holiday destinations around Europe and Asia. It is banned from flying in the European Union.
History Nordwind Airlines was founded in August 2008 by the Russian and Turkish branches of tour operator Pegas Touristik and initially operated three Boeing 757-200s.
The number of passengers transported was as follows:About Nordwind Year Passengers 2008 20,000 2009 555,000 2010 1.2 million 2011 1.7 million 2012 2.2 million 2013 3.4 million 2014 4.4 million2015 2.6 million2016 1.7 million2017 3.5 million2018 4.9 million2019 5.5 million2020 2.9 million2021 5.9 million
On 29 April 2013, two surface-to-air missiles were fired by unknown forces in Syria at a Nordwind Airlines jet flying from Sharm El Sheikh to Kazan. The pilots took evasive action and the plane continued onto Kazan undamaged.
In 2017, the airline acquired two used Airbus A330s.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Nordwind transported approximately 7.4 tons of gold with a market value over $300 million from Venezuela to a refinery near the airport in Entebbe, Uganda. These March 2019 shipments allegedly expose a global underground economy the United States government suspects helped President Nicolás Maduro stay in power in Venezuela, Before his ousting in early 2026.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nordwind suspended all international flights. A number of leased aircraft, located abroad when the invasion took place have been returned to the lessors. The US Commerce Department, who had previously sanctioned US manufactured aircraft, extended sanctions to the European manufactured Airbus aircraft in Nordwind's fleet in August 2022. Sanctions have also banned Nordwind receiving spare parts for their planes.
Destinations
In 2021, Nordwind serves 98 destinations in 28 countries including nine countries and 23 cities in Europe, eight countries and 12 cities in the Middle East and Africa, four countries and four cities in South America, and six countries and 14 cities in Asia.
Country City Airport Notes RefsAlbaniaTiranaTirana International Airport Nënë TerezaArmeniaYerevanZvartnots International AirportAzerbaijanBakuHeydar Aliyev International AirportLankaranLankaran AirportBelarusMinskMinsk National AirportCubaCayo CocoCayo Coco AirportHolguínFrank País AirportCyprusLarnacaLarnaca International AirportDominican RepublicPuerto PlataGregorio Luperón International AirportPunta CanaPunta Cana International AirportSamanáSamaná El Catey International AirportSanto DomingoLas Américas International AirportEgyptHurghadaHurghada International AirportSharm El SheikhSharm El Sheikh International AirportGermanyBerlinBerlin Brandenburg AirportDüsseldorfDüsseldorf AirportHanoverHannover AirportGreeceAthensAthens International AirportHeraklionHeraklion International AirportThessalonikiThessaloniki AirportIndiaGoaDabolim AirportIranTehranTehran Imam Khomeini International AirportJamaicaMontego BaySangster International AirportJordanAqabaKing Hussein International AirportKazakhstanAlmatyAlmaty International AirportKyrgyzstanBishkekManas International Airport MaldivesMaleVelana International AirportMexicoCancúnCancún International AirportNorth KoreaPyongyangPyongyang International Airport North MacedoniaSkopjeSkopje International Airporthttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/04/norwind-to-launch-skopje-service.html Norwind to launch Skopje Service/RussiaBlagoveshchenskIgnatyevo Airport CheboksaryCheboksary International Airport ChelyabinskChelyabinsk Airport IrkutskInternational Airport Irkutsk IvanovoIvanovo AirportKaliningradKhrabrovo AirportKazanĞabdulla Tuqay Kazan International AirportKhabarovskKhabarovsk Novy Airport KirovPobedilovo AirportKrasnodarKrasnodar International Airport KrasnoyarskKrasnoyarsk International Airport MagnitogorskMagnitogorsk International Airport MakhachkalaUytash AirportMineralnye VodyMineralnye Vody Airport MoscowSheremetyevo International AirportNizhnekamskBegishevo Airport NizhnevartovskNizhnevartovsk AirportNovosibirskTolmachevo Airport OmskOmsk Tsentralny Airport OrenburgOrenburg Tsentralny Airport PermPerm International Airport Rostov-on-DonPlatov International AirportSaint PetersburgPulkovo AirportSamaraKurumoch International Airport SaranskSaransk AirportSaratovSaratov Gagarin Airport SochiAdler-Sochi International AirportSurgutFarman Salmanov Surgut Airport SyktyvkarSyktyvkar AirportTyumenRoshchino International Airport UfaMostay Kərim Ufa International AirportUlyanovskUlyanovsk Baratayevka Airport VolgogradVolgograd International Airport YakutskYakutsk Airport YekaterinburgKoltsovo International Airport UkraineSimferopolSimferopol International AirportAnnexation of Crimea by the Russian FederationSaudi ArabiaJeddahKing Abdulaziz International AirportSerbiaBelgradeBelgrade Nikola Tesla AirportSpainBarcelonaBarcelona–El Prat AirportGironaGirona AirportPalma de MallorcaPalma de Mallorca AirportReusReus AirportTanzaniaZanzibarAbeid Amani Karume International AirportTajikistanBokhtarBokhtar International Airport DushanbeDushanbe International Airport KhujandKhujand Airport KulobKulob AirportThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi AirportKrabiKrabi International AirportPattayaU-Tapao International AirportPhuketPhuket International AirportSurat ThaniSurat Thani International AirportTunisiaDjerbaDjerba–Zarzis International AirportMonastirMonastir Habib Bourguiba International AirportTurkeyAntalyaAntalya AirportDalamanDalaman Airportİzmirİzmir Adnan Menderes AirportIstanbulIstanbul Airport United Arab EmiratesDubaiAl Maktoum International AirportSharjahSharjah International AirportUzbekistanFerganaFergana International AirportNamanganNamangan Airport QarshiQarshi AirportSamarqandSamarqand International AirportTashkentIslam Karimov Tashkent International Airport UrgenchUrgench International AirportVenezuelaPorlamarSantiago Mariño Caribbean International AirportVietnamNha TrangCam Ranh International Airport
Codeshare agreements In March 2025, Belavia and Nordwind Airlines signed a codeshare agreement to operate connection flights through Kazan Airport and Pulkovo Airport.
Fleet , Nordwind Airlines operates the following aircraft:
+ Nordwind Airlines fleetAircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotesJYTotalAirbus A321-2005——220220Airbus A321neo2——218218Airbus A330-2002——361361Airbus A330-3003—34259293Boeing 737-80011—12156168VP-BSA returned to Ireland.VP-BDU returned to lessor.—189189Boeing 777-200ER2——440440Boeing 777-300ER2—6480486VP-BJP returned to the USA and was converted into a freighter.—486486Irkut MC-21-300—5TBATotal275
In 2022, Air Lease Corporation were seeking to recover two A321neo and four Boeing 737-800s, as the lease payments were not being made.
The fleet previously included the following aircraft: Airbus A320-200 Boeing 757-200 Boeing 767-300ER
References
External links